Hello Tom! Good to see ya back!!
Happy Thanksgiving!! Keith On Wed, Nov 24, 2010 at 7:33 PM, Tommy News <[email protected]> wrote: > Ex-House Leader DeLay Found Guilty in Texas Case > By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr. > Published: November 24, 2010 > Twitter > comments (8) > > > E-Mail > > Send To Phone > Print > > Single Page > > > Reprints > > Share > Close LinkedinDiggMixxMySpaceYahoo! BuzzPermalink AUSTIN – Tom DeLay, > one of the most powerful and divisive Republican lawmakers to ever > come out of Texas, was convicted Monday of money laundering charges in > a state trial, five years after his indictment here forced him to > resign as majority leader in the House of Representatives. > > Enlarge This Image > > Ben Sklar/Getty Images > Tom DeLay, left, at his corruption trial in October in Austin. > > Blogs > The Caucus > The latest on President Obama, the new Congress and other news from > Washington and around the nation. Join the discussion. > > FiveThirtyEight: Nate Silver's Political Calculus > More Politics News > Readers' Comments > Share your thoughts. > Post a Comment » > Read All Comments (8) » > After 19 hours of deliberation, a jury of six men and six women > decided that Mr. Delay was guilty of one charge of money laundering > and one charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering. > > As the verdict was read, Mr. DeLay, who is 63, sat stone-faced at the > defense table. Then he rose, turned, smiled and hugged his wife and > then his weeping daughter in the first row of spectators. He faces > between five and 99 years in prison, though the judge may choose > probation. > > A few minutes later, Mr. Delay said outside the door of the courtroom > that he would appeal the decision. He called the prosecution a > political vendetta by Democrats in the local district attorney’s > office, and revenge for his role in orchestrating the 2003 redrawing > of congressional districts to elect more Republicans. > > “This is an abuse of power,” he said. “It’s a miscarriage of justice. > I still maintain my innocence. The criminalization of politics > undermines our very system.” > > The verdict ends the latest chapter in a long legal battle that forced > Mr. DeLay to step down. The trial also opened a window on the world of > campaign financing in Washington, as jurors heard testimony about > large contributions flowing to Mr. DeLay from corporations seeking to > influence him, and about junkets to posh resorts where the congressman > would rub shoulders with lobbyists in return for donations. > > Rosemary Lehmberg, a Democrat and Travis County District Attorney, > said the decision to pursue charges had nothing to do with partisans > politics. > > “This was about holding public officials accountable, that no one is > above the law,” she said. > > During the three-week trial, the prosecution presented more than 30 > witnesses in an effort to prove Mr. DeLay conspired with two > associates in 2002 to circumvent a state law against corporate > contributions to political campaigns. Since 1903, Texas law has > prohibited corporations from giving money to candidates directly or > indirectly. > > Mr. Delay was initially charged with breaking campaign finance law. > But prosecutors later switched strategies because it was impossible > under the law at the time to accuse someone of conspiring to break > campaign finance rules, prosecutors said. > > Instead, prosecutors used a novel legal theory never before tried in > Texas: they argued Mr. DeLay and two of political operatives – John > Colyandro and Jim Ellis -- had violated the criminal money-laundering > law. > > They were charged with conspiring to funnel $190,000 in corporate > donations to state candidates through the Republican National > Committee. > > The main facts of the case were never in dispute. > > In mid-September 2002, as the election heated up, Mr. DeLay’s state > political action committee, Texans for a Republican Majority, gave a > check for $190,000 to the Republican National Committee. The money had > been donated earlier in the year by various corporate lobbyists > seeking to influence Mr. DeLay, several witnesses said. > > On September 13, the check was delivered to the R.N.C. by Mr. Ellis, > who was Mr. Delay’s top political operative in Washington and headed > his Federal political action committee. > > At the same meeting, Mr. Ellis also gave the Republican director of > political operations, Terry Nelson, a list of state candidates and an > amount to be sent to each. Mr. Nelson testified that Mr. Ellis had > told him the request for the swap had come from Mr. DeLay. > > In early October, donations were sent from a separate account filled > with individual donations to seven G.O.P. candidates in Texas. Six of > them won. Republicans seized control of the legislature for the first > time in modern history and in 2003 pushed through a controversial > redistricting plan – orchestrated by Mr. DeLay – that sent more Texas > Republicans to Congress in 2004 and helped him consolidate his power. > > Jurors had to wrestle with the questions of what Mr. DeLay knew about > the transaction, when he found out and whether he participated in the > decision to swap the money. > > Another central issue facing the panel was whether the corporate > contributions could be considered illicit. To be guilty of > money-laundering, the prosecution had to show the money had been > obtained through an illegal activity before it was laundered. > > Blogs > The Caucus > The latest on President Obama, the new Congress and other news from > Washington and around the nation. Join the discussion. > > FiveThirtyEight: Nate Silver's Political Calculus > More Politics News > The jury consisted of a Republican, six Democrats, two independent > conservatives and three independent liberals. > > Prosecutors presented a mountain of circumstantial evidence – emails, > telephone records, calendars, brochures and other documents – trying > to persuade jurors that Mr. DeLay played a leading role in the plan > and intended to break the Texas election law from the moment his > political operatives solicited the donations. > > The prosecutor, Gary Cobb, said the prosecution had a tough job in > demonstrating Mr. DeLay was responsible for the actions of his > political associates, Mr. Ellis and Mr. Colyandro, who did not testify > and still await trial on lesser charges. > > None of the other witnesses testified directly about Mr. DeLay’s > control over the decision, and the prosecution instead relied on an > interviews Mr. DeLay had given to prosecutors and journalists. > > “It was almost entirely circumstantial and there were a lot of people > with motives not to have Tom Delay convicted,” Mr. Cobb said. > > During the last day of deliberations, the jurors asked for transcripts > of Mr. DeLay’s interview with prosecutors in 2005, in which he said he > knew about the swap in advance. “Jim Ellis told me he was going to do > it before he did it,” Mr. DeLay said in the interview. > > But the lead defense attorney, Dick DeGuerin, maintained the money > swap was legal because the Republican National Committee kept a > firewall between accounts holding corporate and individual > contributions. > > “It’s not the same money,” was his mantra during the trial. > > He also presented evidence to distance Mr. DeLay from the actions of > his political operatives, arguing that while Mr. Ellis told Mr. DeLay > about the transaction, Mr. DeLay never gave his approval. > > Judge Pat Priest has wide discretion in sentencing the former majority > leader, who was known as “The Hammer” for his no-holds-barred style > during 20 years in the House of Representatives. > > Mr. Delay could be sentenced from 2 years to 20 years in prison for > the conspiracy count, and from 5 years to 99 years, or life in prison, > for the money-laundering count. > > Mr. DeGuerin said Mr. DeLay would try to convince an appeals court the > money-laundering statute should never had been applied to the money > swap — because the original donations were legal and also because the > donations to the state candidates came out of a different account than > the one in which the corporate donations were deposited. > > “It will never stand,” Mr. DeGuerin said. > > More: > > http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/25/us/politics/25delay.html?pagewanted=2&partner=rss&emc=rss > -- > Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time. > Have a great day, > Tommy > > -- > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum > > * Visit our other community at > http://www.PoliticalForum.com/<http://www.politicalforum.com/> > * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. > * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
